Sunday, February 24, 2008

Weekend Herb Blogging #121

Fresh from the farmers' market there was no way I could just walk past these multi-coloured carrots and not get myself a bunch or two.

Though they may look a bit odd to our modern eyes, it wasn't always that way. Purple and Red are the original carrot colours, the orange not taking hold until the 16th century when the Dutch created a carrot in honour of their royal family, the House of Orange.

We all know that orange carrots due to the presence of beta carotene makes them an excellent source of Vitamin A but what about the other colours?

The white carrots are pigment free so apart from the innate healthy properties associated with vegetables they don't have any other properties.

Yellow carrots have Lutene which help to keep your eyes healthy - it is also thought to help in the prevention of some forms of cancer and hardening of the arteries.

Purple carrots are a bit unusual as you'll see because they are orange on the inside and the skin colour comes from Anthocyanics, a type of antioxidant.

With all these good elements contained within their colourful package, the last thing I want to do is boil the goodness out of them. So for this weeks recipe, I'm simply going to roast them in the oven.

Wash the carrots well and trim the tops. I've only peeled those that had blemishes. I've also cut the larger ones in half lengthways to even out the size and make sure they will all cook in roughly the same amount of time.

Drizzle them in a little olive oil, then grind over with salt and pepper - toss them well and then lay them out on a lined tray. Stud unpeeled garlic cloves amongst the carrots - these will caramelise in their skins as the carrots cook.

Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F until slightly softened - turn them after 20 minutes to make sure they cook evenly. I like to keep a bit of a bite to the carrots but you if you like them softer, just cook them for longer.

You can serve them straight from the oven but I like to add an extra touch - a light drizzle of orange-infused Olive oil just lifts the flavour and adds an appealing citrus note.

14 comments:

How I love rainbow carrots. I find them so much sweeter than regular carrots, and of course, more vibrant. I agree that roasting them is the way to go. When those natural sugars caramelize--mmmm....it's so good. What a perfectly colorful WHB entry! PS-I have an award for you on my blog.

I saw Jamie Oliver making a warm salad with these multicoloured carrots and it looked great, but this is a lovely, simple way of cooking them, that will bring out all of the flavour. Now I just have to find some!

Oh yum. I want some of those colorful carrots. I don't think I've seen that many colors here, although after my garden starts producing I don't hit the Farmers Market that often so maybe I missed them. Your photos are fabulous!